Jarrod Sammut factor adds to intrigue for Bradford Bulls at Wakefield

Francis Cummins admits the inclusion of Jarrod Sammut gives added spice to tonight’s clash at Wakefield as the Bulls bid to get their Super League campaign up and running.

The Australian stand-off is poised to make his debut for Richard Agar’s side against the club where he has spent the past two seasons.

Sammut quit the Bulls last Friday after a fee was agreed with the Wildcats – but Cummins is more concerned with the two points on offer.

Any possible points penalty against the Bulls is not expected to be known until next week now as the club’s ownership continues to hang in the balance.

Bulls head coach Cummins said: “It has been well documented that people think we’re going to go down and Wakefield are going to go down, but it’s very early – it’s round two.

“Both clubs want to register a win to get off the mark and there is the inclusion of Jarrod as well, so there are a lot of things surrounding the game.

“But players come up against their former clubs all the time, although it’s unusual for it happen in round two of the season when Jarrod was our player only last week.

“The bigger picture is the game, so we’ll just get on with it.”

Cummins could not fault the commitment of his players during last weekend’s home defeat at the hands of Castleford.

But he is looking for an improvement in composure tonight and is poised to hand a debut to on-loan Huddersfield forward Anthony Mullally.

Cummins, who remains on the look-out for more new recruits, said: “I thought we were very good against Cas but we shot ourselves in the foot in the second half.

“Castleford played well but it was more like us and we just needed a bit more composure.

“We played a bit on emotion, which is hard, but that’s where we are at the moment – we are wanting to prove people wrong. We just need to stay composed and we’ll be okay.”

Matt Diskin has accepted Sammut’s explanation for leaving and admits he will pose a threat tonight.

The Bulls captain said: “He’s a fantastic player and we still like him in our changing room. But he’s made a choice for him and his family and you’ve got to respect that decision.

“On his day he can be the best player in the world and on another day he can be the total opposite. I just hope we get the latter version.”

Diskin joined Cummins in dismissing tonight’s match as a relegation four-pointer and said: “There’s obviously a cloud hanging over us, about whether we’re going to get points deducted or not.

“Wakefield have had a bit of turmoil, so you can understand why people would say that, but it is a bit disrespectful so early in the year to be placing that tag on it.”

The Bulls are still waiting to discover their punishment for going into administration for the second time in two years but Diskin insists morale in the camp remains high, despite the succession of off-field blows and Sunday’s opening 36-18 home defeat by Castleford.

Diskin said of the likely points deduction: “I’ve lost interest in it. You never know what’s going to happen from the RFL. We’ll just go with whatever happens.

“As a group, we are very close-knit. The adversity we’ve had over the last couple of years has made this squad very unique in how close it is.

“It would be naive to think the external stuff doesn’t have an effect – it does – but when we get in to training or on the pitch, the boys are very honest with each other.”

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